Fortune stick offers Hong Kong financial advice it should not ignore
The prophecy emerging from the Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin yesterday could hardly have been more on the mark for Hong Kong as it enters the Year of the Snake facing alarming deficits, tight budgets and worrying economic growth prospects. Do not be greedy and live within your means. That was the timely message from the 'neutral' No 24 fortune stick drawn on the city's behalf on the second day of the Lunar New Year by Heung Yee Kuk chairman Kenneth Lau Ip-keung. The stick, one of 96 that can be drawn from a bamboo cylinder, read: 'Do not do anything wrong during your life or cause trouble because of your greed, unless you have a noble person helping you, you should not waste your efforts.'
Lau interpreted the message as one requiring prudence in financial affairs, and doing good, right and practical things. 'As long as you are not greedy, it will be OK.' He also had specific advice for Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who will deliver his budget on February 26, as the city faces a massive deficit of nearly HK$100 billion and lacklustre economic growth. Lau urged authorities to spend within their means and not raise taxes.
Lau interpreted the first line as meaning everyone should do the right thing and not harm others, or do anything just to make money. That too is sensible advice when scammers seem to be working overtime to bilk Hongkongers and mainlanders of their hard-earned money by phone, online and even on scam farms in Thailand.
The Sha Tin temple was built three centuries ago by locals in a desperate attempt to halt an epidemic. It was to honour a military commander, Che Kung, who was known for ridding villages of plagues, and who spirited the last emperor of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279) to safety in the New Territories. As the tale goes, the epidemic began to subside as construction was completed.
The tradition of drawing fortune sticks emerged much later, in the 1980s, newspaper clippings suggest. City officials stopped making the draw in 2003, when the home affairs minister picked an unlucky prophecy. Hong Kong suffered the deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) that year. The neutral fortune drawn in the just ended Year of the Dragon had the city trapped in a forest. While progress was made, it is clearly not out of the woods yet.
With the economy still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, and uncertainty about the future rife, perhaps a traditional ritual can be regarded as wisdom. While considered a less desirable year to have babies, the Year of the Snake is not an inauspicious one, and offers hope for the future. Heeding sound advice, taking the right approach, and working together, it is hoped Hong Kong can tap its renowned resilience and emerge stronger for it.
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